EDF: New battery projects will support decarbonisation of the UK energy sector

New battery storage facilities with a combined capacity of more than 300 MW are expected to come online in the UK next year. The projects are being managed by EDF Renewables UK's subsidiary. The news was reported by S&P Global. The plan supports the ambitious targets of the new Labour government, which has called for a decarbonised power grid by 2030. 

EDF Renewables UK is currently developing six projects that are expected to be completed over the next year. These include a 57 MW battery in Braintree, Essex, and a 47.5MW battery in Indian Queens, Cornwall. Another, whose planning application was recently approved, is located near Mannington in Dorset. A 52 MW battery storage facility in Sundon, Bedfordshire, has already come online. EDF Renewables UK announced the projects on its website.

The batteries will have a combined capacity of 313 MW, enough to reliably meet the demand of more than 400 thousand households for two hours. The calculation assumes that all the batteries will generate at 100% output for two hours, based on average annual household consumption of 3.4 MWh.

EDF Renewables UK is continuing to build capacity in the country. It currently operates around 150 MW of battery capacity at sites in Oxfordshire, Kent and the West Midlands. The company aims to develop 2 GW of flexible capacity to accelerate the transition to a net-zero future.

"Our pipeline of projects will strengthen the UK's ability to integrate more renewable energy and help make the grid more flexible and resilient by managing the supply and demand of electricity,"said Simone Sullivan, the company's head of the relevant department. "Battery storage is vital to improving our energy security and meeting the new government's 2030 targets. Our projects are gathering momentum and helping the UK benefit from cost-effective, clean renewable energy and a modern, flexible grid."

We have reported here on the new Labour government's energy targets. While battery capacity will help deliver them, natural gas remains the main challenge for decarbonising the energy sector, as the UK's energy system is still heavily dependent on it.